


Most Alive

by SometimeLonely



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Found Family, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Rituals, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:34:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25948912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SometimeLonely/pseuds/SometimeLonely
Summary: Peter is finally old enough for a mate and desperately hopes the Lupercalia celebration will bring one to him.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, May Parker (Spider-Man)/Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Michelle Jones/Ned Leeds, Peter Parker/Steve Rogers
Comments: 8
Kudos: 131





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this story and make no profit from this piece of imagination.
> 
> Note:This could be a one shot or it could be a story. Please let me know if there is any interest in me continuing it.
> 
> Warning: There is some decent violence in this and discussion of a young child being forced into a sexual situation. It doesn't happen, but it could potentially be triggering. Please take care of your mental health and don't read if it could hurt you!
> 
> The title of this story came from the quote "We are most alive when we're in love."

"It's almost time, baby. Are you nervous?"

Peter laughed uneasily, a little embarrassed that he'd been caught humming breathily, dreamily as he ran a comb through the hair that he'd been letting grow out for nearly two years in preparation for this day. He turned around on his bed pallet and smiled at May. He could only see her head and shoulders as she hadn't climbed the small ladder into his attic grotto completely, but he could see that she'd put on the pretty dress that he'd gifted her for winter solstice and she'd brushed her hair out from the braid she normally kept it in. Lupercalia was an important night for their pack and it was especially important for Peter this year. Tonight was the night he would choose a mate and leave home. Maybe. He hoped. It would all depend on whether or not the scent of one of his pack called to his wolf and if his scent called to them in return. He held out the black kohl stick to his aunt and she accepted the unspoken invitation into his little grotto by climbing in. He could have had one of the bigger rooms on the main living floors, he knew, but he'd always loved the space. May would normally grumble good-naturedly about joining him in it, but he could tell that today she needed to be close to him, just like today he needed her to be close to him. She pulled her skirt up around her knees and knelt in front of him as she took the kohl stick from him and motioned for him to close his eyes.

"Just remember, baby," She murmured as she began to smudge the color around his eyes with a light hand, "We're in a good place now. A good pack. If no one smells right, no one here is going to force you."

"I know, May," He said softly, taking the hand that held the kohl stick so that they could look into each other's eyes, "We have the best pack. The best family."

"Yeah," She smiled. It reached her eyes, even if there were tears in them, "We do, don't we?"

Peter wrapped his arms around her and allowed himself a few minutes to remember, a few moments to be melancholy. He'd presented when he was ten-years-old, perhaps a little young, but not unheard of. It was the fact that he presented as omega that caused their peaceful lives to fall apart. His mother and father, his aunt and uncle, all betas in a pack of mostly betas. There hadn't been an omega in their pack for two generations, and only two alphas had presented in that same time. The pack alpha and his son. If Peter hadn't presented as an omega nothing would have happened. He would have grown and eventually found a female beta to try to have a life with. It was harder for betas to conceive and carry a pup to term, but obviously not impossible. But, the very moment he'd been hit with his first protoheat, right in in the middle of the solstice celebration, every single eye of their pack had turned toward him. Scarier than everyone focused on him, were the eyes of the alphas focused on him. The pack alpha was an old man, already losing strength, almost ready to hand over rule of the pack to his son, but smelling an omega his old strength had come back to him. But, his son, younger, stronger, hadn't been about to let his father have the only omega their pack had produced in two lifetimes. All familial affection had fallen by the wayside and they'd begun to tear into each other. Peter had stood frozen, unable to move, while the younger had torn his own father's throat out with his teeth.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight, even as his Uncle Ben swooped in as fast as he could and swung Peter up and onto his back, not stopping a single second before he was running as fast as he could away from the pack, Peter's parents and Aunt May running alongside them. Peter hadn't known it at the time, but his family had saved his life that night. The new pack alpha was a cruel man who had already killed three betas he had taken to mate, two because they did not pup at all and one because she had pupped, but she, in turn, had pupped another beta, and even worse according to the alpha, a female beta. They'd had no doubt that the man intended to force himself on the underaged pup, forcing his protoheat into a real heat and no doubt that if Peter didn't pup and give him an alpha heir right away even his omega status and his young age wouldn't save his life. The new pack alpha had roared for the others to bring him the boy and kill those who would try to take him away. Their pack was hard, they lived hard, they fought hard, and they took what they wanted. Those chasing after them knew that if they did as the pack alpha wanted, the rewards would be generous, perhaps even a chance to have the omega after the alpha verified that he'd been pupped.

Peter didn't see what happened to his parents.

"Don't look, baby, don't look," May panted as they ran.

But, he did hear his father's screams of pain and his mother's screams of rage before they were both silenced. They ran for what felt like hours, May and Ben trading off carrying him on their backs as he suffered through his body's changes. They tried to cool him and lose some of his scent in a creek they passed, but the alpha still caught them. Ben had kissed them both, told them to keep going, and stood his ground. Peter and May had sobbed as they did as they were told and turned back only once, just in time to see the alpha break Ben's neck. Exhausted as she was, losing her mate had given May a strength that Peter had never seen before and knew he would never see again. Her speed was incredible as she got them as far away as she could.

They were far ahead of the pack when they came to cliff, but they could both hear them. May had pulled him off her back and wrapped his legs around her waist as she hugged him close.

"Keep your eyes closed. I love you, baby," She whispered desperately.

"I love you, May," He said through his tears, burying his face in her neck, right where her mating scar from Ben was still on her skin.

And they'd jumped. The fall into the deep river below them had seemed to take forever and no time at all. Peter didn't remember much of what happened in the next few days. It was all flashes and impressions. May never letting him go while they were in the water, feeling as if the current had taken them half way across the world, finally washing up in a shallow place and huddling together until they fell into an exhausted sleep in a cave. After the cave they walked for what felt like days, May always worried that they would be found. May hunted what she could. Peter picked the edible plants and berries his father had taught him as they walked. But, in their hearts, they both knew they weren't going to last long, not without help.

It was when they were on the verge on starvation, huddling in yet another cave, that they'd scented the alpha. Or rather, alphas. Weak as she'd been by that point May had pushed him behind her again and growled the deepest growl she could manage as beta. But, it hadn't been their previous pack alpha who came through the bushes. The alpha who did come through the bushes would have put their previous alpha down in a second. She was strong and beautiful, strawberry blonde hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. May had growled again and they'd both been shocked when the alpha crouched, putting herself lower than them both.

"Hello." Her voice was soft and low, sweet in a way they'd never heard an alpha, "My name is Pepper."

Pepper had spent hours with them in the clearing before their little cave, just talking, telling them about her mate, about the pack they were a part of. Both May and Peter had been shocked to hear that Pepper, who was so powerful, so strong, was not the pack alpha, but one of his subordinates. Their fairly new pack alpha, Steve, she told them, was staying back, as he didn't want to frighten them any more than they were already. She explained that May and Peter were on the edge of their territory, which was how they'd caught their scent, and that they were most welcome to their fire for rest and food for as long or as short a time as they pleased.

"And I'm to believe that your pack doesn't go crazy at the scent of a baby omega?" May snarled, rocking back and forth on her heels with weakness even as she tried to display strength, "That they won't kill me to get to him like our other pack did my mate? And his brother and his mate? His parents! Gone because they wanted to take my baby and pup him before he's even hit a true heat!"

"I am so sorry for everything you've gone through." A new voice, strong and deep, shocked May into falling to her knees. The strongest, most handsome alpha Peter had ever seen stepped into the clearing, and then shocked them both again by falling to his knees and reaching out, palms open, showing that he had nothing to hide, "Please. We just want to help. It's disgusting what that pack did to you and yours. No one in my pack would even think about touching a pup before their age of majority or I'd kill them myself. Please. You're both tired and hungry and heartsick. Come to our fire. Let us take care of you. Let us protect you."

"Protect?" May had whispered, and then lost her battle with all they had gone through, falling over in a dead faint. The alpha had moved faster than Peter had ever seen anyone move and caught May before her head could touch the ground. He'd been so gentle as he picked her up.

"We're going to take care of you both," He'd whispered, looking right into Peter's eyes, his bright blue eyes the kindest thing that Peter had ever seen. He'd never felt safer than when Pepper picked him up gently turning his face into her neck so that he could scent that the only thing she wanted to do was protect him.

And for the past eight years that was all that Pepper had done. That was all their pack had done. The first couple of years May and Peter had lived in a small one room cabin like most of their pack. The freedom they had to live as they chose only made them realize how ruled their lives had been previously. Some of the cabins were more advanced than other, indoor plumbing and the like, some were still spartan with dirt floors. It all depended on how the tenants wanted to live. And in the center of the village the pack had created was the original home, large and multiroomed. Steve, his second, Bucky, and his third, Sam, had lived there together until Bucky and Sam had mated and moved into their own space about six months after May and Peter joined the pack. Peter and May had been in their own cabin until Pepper and Tony had asked May to join their mating, as they'd both fallen in love with her.

Things since their mating had been about as ideal as Peter could expect. He had friends in their pack, people he loved who loved him. May, Pepper, and Tony had loved him as their much-adored child and their family had only been made more complete five years prior when Pepper had pupped May and Morgan had come into their lives. Peter had worried that Tony would be jealous that May had been able to be pupped instead of him, given his omega status, but his worries had been for nothing. Tony had been beaten so severely by his father at a young age, Pepper explained one night, that he'd thought that he'd never have a pup. The fact that May had brought Peter to them and then also given them Morgan had fulfilled the lifelong dream he never thought he'd have.

Peter had been allowed to enjoy his childhood, no one even suggesting that he should be anything but a child until he hit his age of majority, which had just happened during the previous summer. His heat had not come on during the solstice celebration as so many of the other young peoples had. Like Ned's had. Peter couldn't help but smile a little bittersweetly at the thought. He and MJ had been dancing around each other for months and Peter had genuinely thought that their scents would mingle, their wolves call to each other, when the moon rose high at the solstice. But, they hadn't. Peter's wolf hadn't reached out for anyone, his heat hadn't begun. But, Ned's had. And it was Ned's scent that had mingled with MJ's. Ned's wolf that had called to MJ's while MJ's wolf called back. As much as it pained Peter he had seen them the past weeks and he had to admit, they were the better match by far. Ned could challenge MJ in a way that Peter would not have been able to do. And Ned didn't want pups any more than MJ did.

Peter wanted pups. So badly. He pulled back from his hug with May and placed a hand on his belly where he'd been feeling the ache since his last heat, just after his birthday. It was stronger now, with his heat coming on again. He sent up a quick prayer to whoever or whatever might be listening that his wolf would call to someone this night, this celebration.

"It will happen when it's meant to happen, baby," May said quietly, smudging just a little bit more of the kohl on his eyes, "But, if it helps, your scent is sweeter than it ever has been tonight. I'm almost certain…"

"Me, too," Peter whispered. Then, he took her hand again, and looked up into her eyes, "Is it…bad that the only thing I want is to be mated and pupped, May? I mean, Tony does all his inventing, Bruce is our doctor, Sam is Steve's third, even Ned has been a genius with helping Tony. And I…"

"Okay. My turn."

Peter started a little at hearing Tony's voice, but May just looked over at her omega mate with an indulgent, loving smile as he climbed into the loft. She put down the kohl stick down, ruffled Peter's hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead before she allowed Tony to come take her place before him. Tony purred a little at the nuzzle she gave him, just over the mating marks both she and Pepper had left on his neck before she climbed back down the ladder.

"I don't know where we went wrong, Peter." Tony said sadly when it was just the two of them.

"Tony?" Peter asked, a little frightened of the response.

"I don't know where we went wrong if you have to ask if you wanting a mate and pups is a bad thing. Who says you can't have pups and want to work with me or with Bruce, too?"

"Oh! I…" Peter looked down at his hands, "I just…Tony, what if I only want the mate and pups?"

"Only? I guess I never thought about it that way. You've always seemed so happy working with me and Bruce."

"I am!" Peter looked up at Tony earnestly and took his hands in his own, "I love working with you and Bruce! But, Tony, what if I just want to be a traditional omega for a while? Would you…think less of me?"

"Ah, kid," Tony wrapped a hand around the back of Peter's neck and brought their foreheads together, "The only thing we've ever wanted for you is for you to be happy. Whether it's with work or with family or both. You do what makes you happy and we will always be happy for you. Nothing you choose or don't choose is ever going to make us love you any less."

"Tony," Peter nuzzled into his omega parent's scent.

"Anyway," Tony pulled back, only comfortable with physical affection for so long, "I'm betting you're bored of being a traditional omega in a year or less. But, even if you aren't…" He smiled at Peter gently, "Not going to change how much I think of you. You're my pup. Nothing you've ever done or will do will ever be a disappointment to me. So, are you ready?"

"Yeah," Peter breathed out, "Yeah. Let's go."

Peter felt the tears come into his eyes when he turned around at the bottom of the ladder and his family was all gathered, looking at him. May had a sleepy-eyed Morgan in her arms. She would be going to bed soon, too young to stay up for Lupercalia celebration. Tony was just stepping up to them, wrapping an arm around May's waist. And Pepper was standing beside them both, tears in her eyes and a hand covering her mouth.

"Oh, Peter." She breathed out, "You look so handsome and grownup."

"Pepper," Peter ran into her arms when she opened them and allowed himself to be wrapped up in her embrace. The first person who'd made him feel safe in their new lives. She still smelled exactly the same.

"Why don't you two head to the square?" Tony suggested, "May and I'll get Morgan settled into the puppy pile with the other kiddos and join you there soon."

"Sounds good." Pepper smiled at her mates, "Don't be long, you two. I want to dance with you both under the moonlight."

They left the house arm in arm and Peter snuggled into his alpha parent.

"Are you nervous?" She asked quietly.

"Just that maybe no one will smell right tonight." Peter admitted.

"I know you were disappointed when it didn't happen on Solstice, sweetheart," Pepper sighed, "I saw how you looked at MJ."

"But, sometimes our bodies know better," Peter said quietly, "MJ and Ned are a better match than MJ and I would have been."

Pepper stopped and took him in her arms, making sure that he could scent her, "How much of you actually believes that, sweetie?"

"At this point about 85%." He snuggled against her, breathing in her protective, loving scent, "It was harder at first. And it's still kind of hard to see them together. They just…they fit. I wanted to fit."

"You will, sweetie," Pepper scented him delicately, "I promise you will. Whether it's tonight or some other time. For now, try to simply focus on celebrating and having fun. When it's meant to happen, it will. Ready"

"Oh yeah." Peter grinned at her.

It wasn't hard to lose himself in the celebration, in the music. No one did celebration the way their pack did. He spun and twirled to the music in the village square, surrounded by pack doing the same. None of them were feeling the cold, not with the bonfire burning high and the quick tempo of the music forcing the dancing to be high energy and fast paced. When they got hungry they'd cut a piece of meat off of the kill roasting on the smaller fire next to the bonfire and there was plenty of wine, sweet fruit juices, and cool water available when they got thirsty. Those who chose not to dance entertained themselves by telling stories or playing card games. Some of the warriors were having a contest of skill, throwing knives and axes at targets. Peter saw his alpha, beta, and omega parents laughing happily, dancing, talking with their friends and he was so glad. He loved them all so much and all he'd ever wanted was for them to be happy, just like they wanted for him. And as he watched May nuzzle into Pepper's neck before she was pulled down across both Pepper and Tony's laps to accept an elaborate kiss from Tony he knew that they were. They were so happy. He wanted to have a happiness like that for himself.

He heard the cheer go up when their leaders emerged from the big house while he was dancing, but didn't pay too much attention to it. Their leaders didn't need to be given lip service loyalty and none of them really cared who noticed that they'd joined them. It was probably the presentation of Bucky and Sam's new pups that caused the cheer to go up. Even though Bucky and Sam had moved into their own hut after they were mated they'd moved back in temporarily toward the end of Sam's pregnancy so that Bucky had Steve's support and help. It was also no secret that Steve loved pups, so it wasn't a surprise that he'd offered his home to his best friends to help them with their pup's difficult first months.

Peter wasn't sure if it was his coming heat or the crush he'd had on Steve for so many years that had his stomach turning pleasantly. It wasn't like it was uncommon for the young omegas to find Steve attractive. He was strong, beautiful, and took wonderful care of them. It was the dream of many young omega that one day, at one of the festivals, his scent would mingle with theirs and they'd receive his mating bite. But, Steve hadn't taken a mate since his Peggy had died in the same battle that made him Pack Alpha. Of course, Peter had had a crush on Steve just like so many of the others, but he liked to think that he saw a little more of Steve than his beauty and his strength. He also knew that Steve liked to read poetry and that he painted when he could, to relax. He often joined the older omegas as they watched over the pups and was the gentlest of their playmates, letting the little ones crawl all over him. He would be a wonderful father someday. Peter could imagine how beautiful their pups would be.

He closed his eyes when the thought caused a light cramp that led to some slick leaking. He heard a couple of the unattached alphas and betas of the pack begin to move toward him, felt them close to him as they scented him and moved away, none of their scents mingling with his own. He wasn't scared that anyone would try to force a bond on him without a true mingling. That wasn't the way of their pack. He simply allowed his scent to be free, his heat to begin to take over, and kept dancing. It wasn't long before someone else began to dance around him and he could feel their scent reaching out to him. For the first time he felt himself compelled to take a deep breath of the scent. Ice and leather. Complimentary to his own scent of sweet berries and running water.

Yes. This was his mate. This was the only one he would allow to mate and pup him his whole life long. He didn't open his eyes, didn't want the magic of the moment to end quite yet. Instead he threw his arms around the other and kept dancing. He hummed from the back of his throat in pleasure. The alpha was taller than he was, and much broader. So strong. Their pups would breed true, be so strong. His knees were going weak. His body was begging him to let the alpha in, to let the alpha pup him.

He opened his eyes, looked into eyes of crustal blue that he'd memorized so long ago, and smiled.

"Steve."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Previous Disclaimers Apply.
> 
> I have to admit, I am a little bit drunk posting this. There has been no beta reading and it may not make sense at all. Along the same line of thought: I'm looking for a beta reader. If anyone is interested please let me know. I hope this is enjoyable and that when I read it tomorrow it makes sense! I actually think I have a lot more to say in this story. Please let me know if anyone is interested in seeing more than this. :)

"I don't know, guys. Maybe I should just stay in tonight. I can watch the pups."

Steve smiled down at the pups lying in the bassinet together. Their little hands had reached for each other in their sleep as they often did and he couldn't help the way it melted his heart a bit. It was the same thing that happened whenever he saw any of the pups of their pack, really. Unlike when he was younger though, he didn't try to hide how much he loved seeing them now. Not that he'd been successful even when he was younger. Even after he'd presented as an alpha it had been one of his favorite pastimes, hanging around the pups and their caretakers, helping to care of them himself on nights when a puppy pile was needed so that the majority of the clan could attend a celebration. Chester, their previous pack alpha and one of the men who had raised him after his mother passed, had despaired of his behaviors, telling him that he was acting like an omega. Chester hadn't been a bad man. Not at all. He'd been a good, strong, and fair pack leader. He'd been a big part of their pack's success and prosperity. But, he had been a little traditional when it came to gender roles, both primary and secondary. His mate, and Steve's biggest supporter, Abraham had told Chester to leave the boy alone, that he'd grow into the kind of alpha he needed to be when he was needed.

And he had. When he turned sixteen, for some reason his body had gone into overdrive. He had been skinny and short, his pheromones only barely marking him as an alpha. But, over a period of six months he'd put on height and weight, becoming one of the tallest, biggest alphas in their pack. The asthma that had troubled him as a child had disappeared, seemingly overnight. Suddenly he'd been able to run farther, for longer, and faster than almost anyone. He'd finally been able to wrestle with Bucky and Sam like he'd always wanted to but they had never let him for fear of hurting him. It had been a time filled with joy and discovery. Discovering what his own body could do, discovering how he liked to push himself hard, work himself hard. And in discovering it for himself others began to notice it as well. He and Sam had sniffed at each other for all of five minutes before Bucky had warned him off, even though he hadn't worked up the courage to talk to Sam about how he was feeling. Steve hadn't been disappointed. He and Sam never would have worked, not in the long term.

Then, one Summer Solstice, he'd caught the scent of gunpowder and fresh baked bread, a strong, heady smell that made his strong knees a little weak. Peggy, a strong-willed, beautiful beta he'd never really had reason to be around much, had been dancing by herself near the bonfire. She was three years older than he was, which made sense as to why they'd never really run in the same circles before, despite their pack not being the biggest around. Twenty to his seventeen. In her age of majority when he still hadn't quite hit his. She'd caught wind of his scent as well and turned to him, a smile on her red painted lips. They'd twirled around each other, scenting, smiling, laughing. When she'd finally allowed him to put his arms around her waist and had wrapped hers around his neck he'd felt like the strongest, best version of himself. They'd allowed themselves only a couple of kisses, knowing how seriously Chester took the age of majority rule for their entire pack.

But, from that day on they'd been inseparable, spending nearly every waking moment together. Training their minds and their bodies, of course, but playing just as hard. He'd always tended to be a serious person, but with Peggy he'd found himself laughing more than he ever had before. She'd also tended toward the serious, but together they played. They ran off on their chores occasionally to have a swim together in the hot springs just up the mountain from their pack settlement, they played pranks on and with the others around their same age. Chester had approved of the match, in his own way, smiling even as he scolded them when they'd shirked their responsibilities. Abraham had been more open in his support of the relationship, telling Steve that he felt he and Peggy would be the perfect couple to lead their pack into the future when the time was right.

None of them had expected that future to come so soon. Their pack had been at peace for so long, that they all had to admit, they'd become complacent. When the pack that called themselves Hydra had attacked, they had been unprepared. They'd waited until the pack was at their most distracted. It was the night of the Autumnal Equinox and their entire pack knew that Steve and Peggy would mate that night. They knew that if only Steve had been born a few weeks earlier it would have happened at the Summer Solstice and so they were all prepared to celebrate the mating of their future Pack Alpha and his Chosen at the next holiday when their wolves were closest to the surface and the matings were true. The whole pack had been in an uproar for days preparing, knowing that Steve and Peggy had been a couple long enough already that they would be able to take their vows before the entire pack before escaping to the privacy of their new cabin, a gift from Chester and Abraham for their mating.

The night had started like a dream begore the nightmare had begun. The torches leading to the bonfire had cast a warm glow that reflected off of the turning trees as the sun went down behind them. Peggy had been gorgeous in the red dress that she and her mother had spent months perfecting the color of so that it matched the Dahlia crown that she had on her head. They'd stood in front of their entire pack as Chester led them in pledging their love and lives to each other and the kiss that they shared to seal the vows had been perfect, more perfect than anything Steve had ever felt before, and for the first time since his mother had died he'd felt truly at peace. The peace had lasted as he and Peggy held the position of honor at the high table during the feast. It had lasted as they began to dance together. Peggy, being a beta, had no heat to be triggered before or during their binding and so there was nothing to trigger a rut in Steve, so they were able to enjoy the party their pack had planned for them.

Steve didn't know anything was wrong until he'd heard Chester's voice, "Abraham? My omega?" The confusion, the disbelief, had stopped Steve in his tracks. He'd never heard the pack alpha's voice sound like that. He'd turned to where Chester was looking, his eyes wide, and couldn't help the cry of shocked pain and anger that escaped him when he saw his omega parent on his knees, blood pouring from a wound in his belly that he was trying to cover with both hands.

"Hydra," He'd said, blood pouring from his mouth, before he fell to his side and the nightmare had broken free.

It was as if they were made of shadow as they came from all corners. Hydra was well known to all of the packs in the area. They claimed no territory, always migrating, always looking for, wanting, more. As long as all they had to do was fight for it, kill for it. The reveled in the death and killed indiscriminately. Men, women, children, alpha, omega, beta…It didn't matter to them. Their own packs intelligence had told them that Hydra would most likely come for them at some point. They were a strong pack, with a strong territory rich in resources, and they had many, many fertile betas and omegas among them. Hydra would want it all. They'd come and they'd kill any alphas and male betas, kill all of the children, take all of the food, burn down the village, and carry off the female betas and omegas for pleasure and breeding slaves. Their intelligence was that Hydra would come for them after the winter thawed. Their intelligence was wrong.

Chester's roar of loss was something Steve still heard in his nightmares. The crazed look in his eye as he advanced on the enemy, something that was seared into his memory. Despite being descendants of wolves, their people, and indeed all packs, had lost the ability to take a lupine form generations back. There were stories, stories that parents told their children, fairy tales, that if someone was strong enough in their wolf they would be able to transform, though no one had seen it happen for at least a hundred years. Steve had thought, seeing the way Chester fought that night, that if anyone would have been able to take a wolf form, it would have been him. Steve swore that his eyes had changed, that his canines were longer, and his normally close shaved face covered in hair, but it could have been a trick of the light. He only had a moment to look at Chester, after all, before he was carried away by the battle lust as well.

"The children." He heard Peggy gasp next to him.

"Go!" He ordered, knowing that Peggy, Sam, Pepper, and Tony would listen and protect the puppy pile where all of their children, their hope and their future, were gathered together. Easy to find, easily accessed, but also easily protected as long as someone got to them first.

He didn't remember much from the battle after that. But, he was told that he'd gone into a frenzy, that no one else had been nearly as strong or as fast, that others had thought of him the same way that he'd thought of Chester. If there was ever anyone strong enough to take lupine form, it would have been him. He'd worked his way through the enemy, tearing through them like tissue paper, never pausing, never faltering, ignoring the minor injuries that the enemy was able to inflict upon him. He was told later, by Bucky, by others, that the sound he'd made when the Pack Alpha of Hydra, Schmidt, had torn out Chester's throat with his teeth, had been the thing that nightmares were made of. He was told that when he and Schmidt were fighting they were moving so fast that no one in his pack dared to interfere, for fear of getting in his way and being no help at all. They'd been terrified, Schmidt had seemed so powerful, but in the end it was Steve who broke the bastard's neck, Steve who stood upon his corpse and howled his victory.

He didn't come back to himself, from the frenzy, and then from the fever that overtook him body, for three days. And when he did finally come back to himself it was to find his life torn apart. His best friend, and the one who had always been acknowledged to be his second, had lost an arm and almost his life. His adoptive parents were dead and burned while he was gripped by fever. And his Peggy, his wife, had died in Sam's arms, wounded beyond help to protect the pups. Her final words, her final thoughts, were for Steve, Sam had told him. Words of love and words of encouragement. Encouragement to lead their pack as Chester had, well and fairly, and encouragement to one day allow himself to love again. She'd been at peace when she died, Sam had told him, and Stever knew that Sam would never lie to him, not about that.

He thrown himself into his new role as Pack Alpha, letting it keep the pain and the fear down. They'd destroyed the Hydra pack, knowing that they had to in order to keep their own pack safe. Allow one of the fanatics to escape and they would build the pack back up and come back. But, the destruction to their own pack could not be healed overnight. They'd lost good warriors, half of the village had burned including some supplies meant to get them through the long winter months, and there were orphaned pups to be placed. Steve allowed the needs of the pack to take precedence over his need to mourn and it had worked for a time. With so much to be done most nights he fell into bed too exhausted to think, to mourn. It was only after he'd been Pack Alpha for nearly a year, just after Summer Solstice, when he'd finally realized that his pack was on the way to healing and he'd better do the same.

It had been finding May and Peter, mostly starved and so scared, that had put him over. Because he'd realized, holding an unconscious and emaciated May in his arms, watching as Pepper nuzzled a traumatized pup, that his pack had healed enough to take them in. His pack was healed enough to help them heal. And so he needed to be. It hadn't been easy. There had been nights that he'd thought the grief alone would kill him. But, even on those nights the sun rose. And even on the days he was feeling his most raw there were still pups he could cuddle to soothe his aching soul, still friends who would nuzzle and hold him without assuming that it needed to go further. Grief like that, so deep, and so raw, never fully healed, but every day it got a little easier, a little less raw. And every day the sun seemed brighter and he could take more joy in the beautiful and wonderful things that surrounded him. Like Bucky and Sam's pups.

He stroked a finger down each of their cheeks. They were gorgeous. He loved them so much. And if he had to force an ache down, an ache that wanted to see his own pups in a bassinet just like this, no one had to know but him.

"Excuse you?" Sam's voice cut through his ruminations, "Did you just say what I think you said?"

"He totally did, babe," Bucky's voice joined his mate's, "He's trying to get out of Lupercalia."

"No, guys, I…" Steve held up his hands in defense.

"Nope," Sam held up a hand and Steve'e mouth snapped shut automatically in response, "We are going to introduce my…" Bucky cleared his throat, "Our pups to the pack. And then they are going to the puppy pile, where Scott, Hope, and Cassie are already waiting for them. You are going to drink, you're going to dance, and for once you're going to let yourself have a god damned good time."

"Amen to that," Bucky murmured, "Stevie…" Steve's mouth snapped closed again when Bucky's piercing gaze landed on him, "Seriously. You need some time to relax. You never let yourself do it, putting yourself on the lookout and guard rotation. The sentries are posted, the warriors are where they need to be if something happens. It's your turn to have some fun. Please, for the love of all that is good, for my sanity, for Sam's…you know I love you, but, please, pull the stick out of your ass for one night, huh?"

"Jesus, Buck…" Steve wanted to complain, but it made sense. They were right. He hadn't truly allowed himself to participate in, much less appreciate one, of their pack celebrations in years. He ran his hand through his hair, took a deep breath, let it out, and nodded at them.

"Good boy," Sam smiled.

It was testament to just how little he'd made himself available, and just how much his pack has missed him doing so, when everyone, from open and honest Clint, to closed off and snarky Tony, greeted him with surprise and delight, pressing meat and drink into his hands, telling him how much they'd missed seeing him at celebrations. He made his way through his pack, catching up, feeling himself relax. He was shocked at the way Michelle and Ned were curled up together near the fire, still in the honeymoon phase of a new mating. They were a good pair, he had to admit, but he hadn't seen it coming and he was shocked that he hadn't realize they'd paired at all. He smiled at the way Clint and Natasha hovered over Laura, still early in her latest pregnancy, and wondered if the three of them were trying to start a pack of their own. He felt his heart ache in the best possible way at the seeing May draped over Pepper and Tony, so very comfortable, so very much part of their pack, when at first it had seemed like she and Peter would never find a way to settle after they'd endured so much heartache.

He'd just taken a sip of his wine, finally feeling his shoulders and his thoughts relaxing, when a scent unlike any he'd ever experienced before drifted to him. The scent of paper and ink and lightning. It was as if that very same lightning was running through him.

"Steve?" Bucky asked when he pushed his goblet into Bucky's chest, his nose lifting to catch more of the delicious aroma. Steve didn't bother to answer, too intent on following the scent to the edge of the crowd gathered around the dancers near the bonfire.

Dancer, his mind amended. There may have been more than one before, but Peter was alone now, dancing to a rhythm he heard in his head, allowing his scent to drift free and open. A heat scent, a scent begging for a mate, calling out to the one who would be its perfect match.

Peter looked so beautiful, Steve thought, dancing by firelight, his eyes closed as he lost himself in feeling. But, then, Peter had looked beautiful to Steve for a long time. For many, many years Peter had just been one of the pack, one of the young ones who Steve wasn't oblivious enough to not notice giggled over him. Only, Peter didn't giggle, when Steve really thought about it. He talked to Steve about books, and the pack, and smiled and laughed with him, but he wasn't a part of the group that would follow him, bending their neck and fluttering their lashes. It was probably one of the things that Steve appreciated most about Peter. His scent had always said he was attracted, but Peter had more control over himself than that.

It was really in the last six months, since he'd hit his age a majority, that Steve began to think that maybe Peter could be something else. He was young, he was beautiful, he was the most intelligent person Steve had ever met, so much smarter than he was himself. Steve genuinely liked him. He could spend hours talking with him. He was so different than Peggy had been. Peggy had been strong, independent, a beta. Peter was also strong and independent, but he was also an omega, capable of bearing children and, from his scent, wanting to bear children.

His scent. His scent was calling to Steve. And for the first time since that horrible night so long ago, Steve decided, he was going to let himself want something, was going to let himself have what he would have normally said he didn't deserve. He let his scent loose, let it overwhelm, and the few that were still considering dancing with Peter showed their necks and backed away.

Dancing with Peter felt right, it felt natural. There was nothing forced, no expectations. He wrapped himself around the smaller man and smiled into his neck, scenting him, and falling a little further in love. And when Peter opened his eyes and said Steve's name…

He smiled.


End file.
